scholarly journals Antimicrobial defences increase with sociality in bees

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 422-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Stow ◽  
David Briscoe ◽  
Michael Gillings ◽  
Marita Holley ◽  
Shannon Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Microbial Pathogens ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Social Species ◽  
Evolution Of Sociality ◽  
Selective Agents ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Risk Of Disease ◽  
Solitary Species

Evidence for the antiquity and importance of microbial pathogens as selective agents is found in the proliferation of antimicrobial defences throughout the animal kingdom. Social insects, typified by crowding and often by low genetic variation, have high probabilities of disease transmission and eusocial Hymenoptera may be particularly vulnerable because of haplodiploidy. Mechanisms they employ to reduce the risk of disease include antimicrobial secretions which are particularly important primary barriers to infection. However, until now, whether or not there is selection for stronger antimicrobial secretions when the risk of disease increases because of sociality has not been tested. Here, we present evidence that the production of progressively stronger antimicrobial compounds was critical to the evolution of sociality in bees. We found that increases in group size and genetic relatedness were strongly correlated with increasing antimicrobial strength. The antimicrobials of even the most primitive semi-social species were an order of magnitude stronger that those of solitary species, suggesting a point of no return, beyond which disease control was essential. Our results suggest that selection by microbial pathogens was critical to the evolution of sociality and required the production of strong, front-line antimicrobial defences.

scholarly journals Reduced cellular immune response in social insect lineages

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 20150984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarita M. López-Uribe ◽  
Warren B. Sconiers ◽  
Steven D. Frank ◽  
Robert R. Dunn ◽  
David R. Tarpy
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Colony Size ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Cellular Immune Response ◽  
Immune Systems ◽  
Social Species ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Social ◽  
Risk Of Disease ◽  
Cellular Immune

Social living poses challenges for individual fitness because of the increased risk of disease transmission among conspecifics. Despite this challenge, sociality is an evolutionarily successful lifestyle, occurring in the most abundant and diverse group of organisms on earth—the social insects. Two contrasting hypotheses predict the evolutionary consequences of sociality on immune systems. The social group hypothesis posits that sociality leads to stronger individual immune systems because of the higher risk of disease transmission in social species. By contrast, the relaxed selection hypothesis proposes that social species have evolved behavioural immune defences that lower disease risk within the group, resulting in lower immunity at the individual level. We tested these hypotheses by measuring the encapsulation response in 11 eusocial and non-eusocial insect lineages. We built phylogenetic mixed linear models to investigate the effect of behaviour, colony size and body size on cellular immune response. We found a significantly negative effect of colony size on encapsulation response (Markov chain Monte Carlo generalized linear mixed model (mcmcGLMM) p < 0.05; phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) p < 0.05). Our findings suggest that insects living in large societies may rely more on behavioural mechanisms, such as hygienic behaviours, than on immune function to reduce the risk of disease transmission among nest-mates.

scholarly journals Immunity vs Sociality: Adaptive evolution tests suggest social lifestyle exerts greater selection pressures than host-pathogen coevolution in the bees

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Mee ◽  
Seth M Barribeau
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Adaptive Evolution ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Gene Evolution ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Immune Gene ◽  
Immune Genes ◽  
Social Species ◽  
Host Pathogen ◽  
Solitary Species

AbstractHosts and their parasites and pathogens are locked in antagonistic co-evolution. The genetic consequence of this can be seen in the rates of adaptive evolution in immunologically important loci in many taxa. As the risk of disease transmission increases we might also expect to see greater rates of adaptive evolution on genes of immune function. The evolution of sociality and its elaborations in insects represent enormous shift in disease transmission risk. Here, we examine whether sociality in the bees corresponds to changes in the rate of adaptive evolution in both classical canonical immune genes, and genes with putative immune functions identified from meta-analyses of honey-bee transcriptomic responses to infection. We find that measures of gene-wide adaptive evolution do not differ among canonical immune, non-canonical candidate immune, and background gene sets, but that branch-site adaptive evolution does increase with sociality regardless of gene category. Solitary species have greater rates of adaptive evolution in canonical immune genes than background genes, supporting the suggestion that social immune mechanisms may instead be the site of host-pathogen co-evolution in social species. We identify three genes with putative roles in immunity that warrant further attention (Vitel-logenin Vg, disks large 1 tumour suppressor, and the uncharacterised protein LOC100577972). There are more gene family changes after the origin of sociality across all gene classes, with contractions occur-ring after the elaboration of sociality to complex eusociality. There are few genes or functions under adaptive selection that appear to be shared outside of specific lineages, suggesting that evolution of the immune system may be specific to individual species and their pathogen interactions.SignificanceInfectious disease drives rapid evolution of immune genes, but infection risk should be much higher in social species. To examine whether greater sociality drives faster immune system evolution we compared the rate of immune gene evolution in solitary, social, and highly eusocial bees. To account for possible novel immune genes in bees, we analysed classical immune genes alongside candidate immune genes inferred from other studies. Surprisingly, we find that solitary bees have the highest rate of immune gene evolution relative to background genes but that sociality is associated with rapid evolution across the whole genome. These findings suggest that 1) accelerated immune gene evolution is not universal, 2) immune gene evolution is moderated by sociality in that solitary species invest more into immune gene change, and 3) that social genomes are highly dynamic, which may obscure evolution at immunological loci. The types of immune genes and functions appear mostly lineage-specific, regardless of sociality, suggesting individual evolutionary his-tories exert more selection pressure than general patterns of greater pathogen exposure introduced by social living.

scholarly journals Heat dissipation in subterranean rodents: the role of body region and social organisation

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
František Vejmělka ◽  
Jan Okrouhlík ◽  
Matěj Lövy ◽  
Gabriel Šaffa ◽  
Eviatar Nevo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Heat Dissipation ◽  
Ventral Surface ◽  
Body Region ◽  
Subterranean Rodents ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Social Species ◽  
Body Regions ◽  
Body Heat ◽  
Solitary Species

AbstractThe relatively warm and very humid environment of burrows presents a challenge for thermoregulation of its mammalian inhabitants. It was found that African mole-rats dissipate body heat mainly through their venter, and social mole-rats dissipate more body heat compared to solitary species at lower temperatures. In addition, the pattern of the ventral surface temperature was suggested to be homogeneous in social mole-rats compared to a heterogeneous pattern in solitary mole-rats. To investigate this for subterranean rodents generally, we measured the surface temperatures of seven species with different degrees of sociality, phylogeny, and climate using infrared thermography. In all species, heat dissipation occurred mainly through the venter and the feet. Whereas the feet dissipated body heat at higher ambient temperatures and conserved it at lower ambient temperatures, the ventral surface temperature was relatively high in all temperatures indicating that heat dissipation to the environment through this body region is regulated mainly by behavioural means. Solitary species dissipated less heat through their dorsum than social species, and a tendency for this pattern was observed for the venter. The pattern of heterogeneity of surface temperature through the venter was not related to sociality of the various species. Our results demonstrate a general pattern of body heat exchange through the three studied body regions in subterranean rodents. Besides, isolated individuals of social species are less able to defend themselves against low ambient temperatures, which may handicap them if staying alone for a longer period, such as during and after dispersal events.

scholarly journals Livestock movement informs the risk of disease spread in traditional production systems in East Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Divine Ekwem ◽  
Thomas A. Morrison ◽  
Richard Reeve ◽  
Jessica Enright ◽  
Joram Buza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Herd Size ◽  
Transmission Risk ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Transmission Potential ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Transmission Distance ◽  
Risk Of Disease

AbstractIn Africa, livestock are important to local and national economies, but their productivity is constrained by infectious diseases. Comprehensive information on livestock movements and contacts is required to devise appropriate disease control strategies; yet, understanding contact risk in systems where herds mix extensively, and where different pathogens can be transmitted at different spatial and temporal scales, remains a major challenge. We deployed Global Positioning System collars on cattle in 52 herds in a traditional agropastoral system in western Serengeti, Tanzania, to understand fine-scale movements and between-herd contacts, and to identify locations of greatest interaction between herds. We examined contact across spatiotemporal scales relevant to different disease transmission scenarios. Daily cattle movements increased with herd size and rainfall. Generally, contact between herds was greatest away from households, during periods with low rainfall and in locations close to dipping points. We demonstrate how movements and contacts affect the risk of disease spread. For example, transmission risk is relatively sensitive to the survival time of different pathogens in the environment, and less sensitive to transmission distance, at least over the range of the spatiotemporal definitions of contacts that we explored. We identify times and locations of greatest disease transmission potential and that could be targeted through tailored control strategies.

Female, but not male, agonistic behaviour is associated with male reproductive success in stable bluebanded goby (Lythrypnus dalli) hierarchies

Behaviour ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 151 (10) ◽  
pp. 1367-1387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tessa K. Solomon-Lane ◽  
Madelyne C. Willis ◽  
Devaleena S. Pradhan ◽  
Matthew S. Grober
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Dominant Male ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Agonistic Behaviour ◽  
Social Species ◽  
Evolution Of Sociality ◽  
Lythrypnus Dalli ◽  
Linear Hierarchies ◽  
Substantial Control

In many social species, there are important connections between social behaviour and reproduction that provide critical insights into the evolution of sociality. In this study, we describe associations between agonistic behaviour and male reproductive success in stable social groups of bluebanded gobies (Lythrypnus dalli). This highly social, sex-changing species forms linear hierarchies of a dominant male and multiple subordinate females. Males reproduce with each female in the harem and care for the eggs. Since aggression tends to be associated with reduced reproduction in social hierarchies, we hypothesized that males in groups with high rates of aggression would fertilise fewer eggs. We also hypothesized that a male’s agonistic behaviour would be associated with his reproductive success. Dominants often exert substantial control over their harem, including control over subordinate reproduction. To address these hypotheses, we quantified egg laying/fertilisation over 13 days and observed agonistic behaviour. We show that there was a significant, negative association between male reproductive success and the total rate agonistic interactions by a group. While no male behaviours were associated with the quantity of eggs fertilised, female agonistic behaviour may be central to male reproductive success. We identified a set of models approximating male reproductive success that included three female behaviours: aggression by the highest-ranking female and approaches by the lowest-ranking female were negatively associated with the quantity of eggs fertilised by males in their groups, but the efficiency with which the middle-ranking female displaced others was positively associated with this measure. These data provide a first step in elucidating the behavioural mechanisms that are associated with L. dalli reproductive success.

Characteristics of diluted-stored and post-thawed semen of Hutsul stallions

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sperm Motility ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Genetic Material ◽  
Sperm Bank ◽  
Resource Protection ◽  
Frozen Semen ◽  
Genetic Reserve ◽  
Basic Parameters ◽  
Risk Of Disease

Abstract The use of frozen semen lowers the risk of disease transmission, eliminates geographical limitations and supports the implementation of genetic resource protection programs. However, due to the very rare use of frozen semen from Hutsul stallions, their genetic material is not secured in sperm banks, and very little information is available about their semen, including its suitability for cryopreservation, and sperm survival rates after thawing. The aim of this study was to analyse basic parameters such as sperm motility, vitality and morphology in diluted-stored and post-thawed Hutsul semen, using a CASA system. There were no differences in sperm motility (P = 0.3372) or morphology between the groups, although the progressive motility was higher in thawed semen (P = 0.0151), while the sperm vitality was higher in diluted-stored semen (P = 0.00517). This study demonstrates that semen from Hutsul horses is suitable for cryopreservation, thus supporting the creation of a sperm bank as a genetic reserve for representatives of this breed.

scholarly journals Telemedicine: A Paradigm Shift in Healthcare in the wake of COVID-19 in India

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ria Saha ◽  
Vinoth Gnana Chellaiyan
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
National Guidelines ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
Regulatory Guidelines ◽  
Risk Of Disease ◽  
Wide Scale ◽  
The Government ◽  
Institutional Challenges

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected the delivery of essential healthcare services in India. The massive disruption of the routine healthcare services had been circumvented to a certain extent with the application of telemedicine. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of India has issued regulatory guidelines and approved Registered Medical Practitioners (RMP) to adopt the usage of teleconsultation service which can be real-time or asynchronous to minimise the risk of disease transmission. The commentary provides an in-depth review of the regulatory guidelines implemented by the Government of India and discusses the inherent structural and fundamental challenges associated with its wide scale adoption, accessibility, and utilisation. Though the Government of India had issued national guidelines to promote safe and effective usage of telemedicine practice, there remains certain primary structural, technical and institutional challenges regarding expansion of uninterrupted services to periurban and rural peripheral health facilities and its nationwide sustainability. The article demands the attention of the policymakers and relevant stakeholders to identify the inherent bottlenecks intrinsic to the guidelines and amend the regulatory framework accordingly to ensure its long-term sustainability.

scholarly journals Pembinaan dan Pendampingan Perilaku Hidup Bersih dan Sehat (PHBS) di Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Hidayatul Insan Kota Palangkaraya

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-46
Author(s):  
Nurhalina Nurhalina ◽  
Suratno Suratno ◽  
Jarot Marchel
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Community Service ◽  
Primary Education ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Healthy Behavior ◽  
Behavior Development ◽  
Risk Of Disease

Household Health Survey on 2013 shows that 60% children�s disease in Palangka Raya continue to increase especially related to clean and healthy behavior. Islamic Primary School (MI) Hidayatul Insan Palangka Raya is one of primary education institution in Palangka Raya at risk of disease transmission. It is because the school has not implement clean and healthy behavior in the school environtment optimally. Clean and healthy behavior development and accompaniment in MI Hidayatul Insan Palangka Raya aimed to provide assistance to the school in planning clean and healthy behavior policy, supporting infrastructure preparation, education, observation and evaluation of clean and healthy behavior implementation. The method of the communty service involved preparation, implementation and evaluation. The output of the community service were the school has implemented clean and healthy behavior; clean and healthy school environtment; increasing student achievement; and increasing public interest to send their children to the school.

scholarly journals Livestock Movement Informs the Risk of Disease Spread in Traditional Production Systems in East Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Divine Ekwem ◽  
Thomas A. Morrison ◽  
Richard Reeve ◽  
Jessica Enright ◽  
Joram Buza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Herd Size ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Transmission Potential ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Transmission Distance ◽  
Cattle Movements ◽  
Risk Of Disease

Abstract In Africa, livestock are important to local and national economies, but their productivity is constrained by infectious diseases. Comprehensive information on livestock movements and contacts is required to devise appropriate disease control strategies; yet, understanding contact risk in systems where herds mix extensively, and where different pathogens can be transmitted at different spatial and temporal scales, remains a major challenge. We deployed Global Positioning System collars on cattle in 52 herds in a traditional agropastoral system in western Serengeti, Tanzania, to understand fine-scale movements and between-herd contacts, and to identify locations of greatest interaction between herds. We examined contact across spatiotemporal scales relevant to different disease transmission scenarios. Daily cattle movements increased with herd size and rainfall. Generally, contact was greatest away from households, during periods with low rainfall and in locations close to dipping points. We demonstrate how movements and contacts affect the risk of disease spread. For example, contact rate was relatively sensitive to the survival time of different pathogens in the environment, and less sensitive to transmission distance, at least over the range of values that we explored. We identify times and locations of greatest disease transmission potential and that could be targeted through tailored control strategies.

scholarly journals Experience, but not age, is associated with volumetric mushroom body expansion in solitary alkali bees

2021 ◽  
pp. jeb.238899
Author(s):  
Mallory A. Hagadorn ◽  
Makenna M. Johnson ◽  
Adam R. Smith ◽  
Marc A. Seid ◽  
Karen M. Kapheim
Keyword(s):  
Structural Changes ◽  
Evolutionary Relationship ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Mushroom Bodies ◽  
Order Processing ◽  
Social Species ◽  
Evolution Of Sociality ◽  
Foraging Experience ◽  
Brain Changes ◽  
The Brain

In social insects, changes in behavior are often accompanied by structural changes in the brain. This neuroplasticity may come with experience (experience-dependent) or age (experience-expectant). Yet, the evolutionary relationship between neuroplasticity and sociality is unclear, because we know little about neuroplasticity in the solitary relatives of social species. We used confocal microscopy to measure brain changes in response to age and experience in a solitary halictid bee (Nomia melanderi). First, we compared the volume of individual brain regions among newly-emerged females, laboratory females deprived of reproductive and foraging experience, and free-flying, nesting females. Experience, but not age, led to significant expansion of the mushroom bodies—higher-order processing centers associated with learning and memory. Next, we investigated how social experience influences neuroplasticity by comparing the brains of females kept in the laboratory either alone or paired with another female. Paired females had significantly larger olfactory regions of the mushroom bodies. Together, these experimental results indicate that experience-dependent neuroplasticity is common to both solitary and social taxa, whereas experience-expectant neuroplasticity may be an adaptation to life in a social colony. Further, neuroplasticity in response to social chemical signals may have facilitated the evolution of sociality.

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